St Mirren star Steven Thompson warns his Buddies: Time to stand up and be counted - or else we are going down

THE Buddies crashed to their seventh defeat in eight league matches on Tuesday against St Johnstone with a pitiful performance that had relegation written all over it and Thompson knows that livelihoods are at stake.

STEVEN THOMPSON has urged his St Mirren team-mates to stand up and be counted if they want to avoid playing in the Championship next season.

The Buddies crashed to their seventh defeat in eight league matches on Tuesday against St Johnstone with a pitiful performance that had relegation written all over it.

A display devoid of inspiration left under-fire manager Danny Lennon completely bemused at the lack of fight and spirit shown by his struggling side.

However, the 1-0 home defeat that ensured St Mirren remain firmly embedded in the relegation play-off spot did hammer home to Thompson the perilous nature of the Paisley club’s plight.

On current form and with confidence dwindling with each passing loss Lennon’s men appear the most likely of the five other candidates to finish second bottom with seven games of the campaign remaining.

The consequences of exiting the top flight could be dire for St Mirren and Thompson knows livelihoods are at stake. But he is also aware this is no time for the players to start feeling sorry for themselves.

He said: “The first five minutes we were reasonably bright against St Johnstone but after that I don’t think we were anywhere near the tempo we reached in the past two or three matches.

“We were hesitant on the ball and looked nervous. But with the position we’re in we need to stand up and be counted and take the ball but we were too quick to get rid of it.

“There was no attempt to build up any passing patterns – we were quite direct. It would be fair to say we were poor.

“I don’t think the fact we are in the play-off spot is getting to the players yet but we need to show more character and belief. It’s time to roll the sleeves up – there is no hiding place.

“It’s fairly obvious that winning games breeds confidence and losing games doesn’t. Possibly we are suffering from a lack of it but we don’t have any time for that now.

“We need results straight away, starting at Inverness on Saturday.

“It’s a very difficult venue but I know we can be 10 times better than we were against St Johnstone. We’re fighting for our futures now. We’re definitely in a dogfight and we need to show a bit more spirit than we did on Tuesday night.”

Given the quality of players Lennon has at his disposal St Mirren shouldn’t be languishing in the basement area of the SPFL. The likes of Conor Newton, John McGinn, Kenny McLean and Paul McGowan would be welcomed into the fold by most other top-flight managers.

But while there is plenty ability within the squad the deficiencies witnessed on a regular basis by the fans – who booed their team off at half-time and full-time on Tuesday – suggest there is something badly amiss.

Thompson, 35, has been around long enough to know talent alone won’t save them from the drop.

He said: “Nobody is ever too good to go down. We’re underachieving and our results haven’t been good enough.

“The league table doesn’t lie and we have the second worst goal difference.

“We haven’t scored enough collectively and we’re conceding too many.

“Maybe we need to get back to the basics but we need to find the formula and we need to find it very quickly.”

As a senior member of the side Thompson accepts there will be an additional onus on the more experienced players over the next two months.

Five Under-21s started the game in midweek and the situation St Mirren find themselves in is new to all of them.

But by the same token the veteran striker insists age is no barrier to mental fortitude.

He said: “The senior players – like myself, Gary Teale, David van Zanten and Jim Goodwin – try to relax the younger lads but there’s only so much you can do to make somebody feel comfortable.

“Whenever you go on a pitch it’s up to the individual how they perform and how they deal with pressure.

“All of us have to deal with the pressure better than we did against St Johnstone. I don’t get edgy or nervous but I’m very much aware of the situation we’re in.

“Maybe that’s down to experience but being young is no excuse. Everyone has to roll their sleeves up because – youngsters or not – we’re in among it and things need to improve dramatically.”